Contagious
by Adventurer411
Summary: Haitus! Will undergo revamping sometime, or may just be deleted.
1. Prologue: My princess in shining armor?

Summary: (And yes, this is a long summary)

_Aelita is the top spy, having inherited her mother's work. Jeremy, the top scientist, has inherited his father's work. They've been friends since age six and have kept their secrets since age ten, the beginning of training. They're both sixteen now and meet in business— where they are not friends, but sworn enemies. After Aelita narrowly escapes from Jeremy, he soon learns that they are both in grave danger. Aelita makes this realization shortly afterward._

_An insane operative from Jeremy's side is tired of following orders, tired of being the background guy, and tired of being in the shadows of others. His patient plotting over the years has finally paid off, and now he has his own grand scheme. Many try to convince him that his idea is terrible, that it will bring chaos, but he pays no heed, for his mind has become twisted and he is now truly mad._

_This is too big for one organization alone. However many years of anxiousness, suspicion, and hate that exists between them, Jeremy and Aelita's organizations must unite their talents in order to defeat this mad man._

_Irritated, angry, and suspicious of each other, Jeremy and Aelita struggle at their reluctant cooperation; both know they must cooperate if they wish to have any chance against the man. They can hardly stand to work together, yet can hardly stand not to. Despite this, the memory of their strong friendship that was disrupted only a week ago is imbued firmly into their minds, unable to be forgotten. But there's something else, something deeply rooted inside of it that… Will this push them apart, or will it awaken their affection for each other?  
_

_Both organizations are now locked in a deadly game of chess, each action like moving a piece across the board that your opponent dominates. And this time, making even one wrong move will have much dire consequences than just getting your piece captured and moved off the board…_

Before you say anything- I've been wanting to do this for, like, ever. And due to my busy-ness, you can't count on constant updates, though I promise it will be at least one every two months or so (Your thoughts: And that's supposed to be reassuring?) but I would really appreciate some feedback on this.

PS: I'm allowed to make this chap short cause it's just a prologue...

* * *

The bell rang to signal the end of class.

"Now kids, don't forget to do page two of your reading workbook," the teacher reminded them as the six and seven-year-olds eagerly packed.

"Yes, Mrs. Maple," the kids chorused obediently. Everyone jumped out of their seats, and remembering the rule of no running, walked quickly out of the door. As the rest filed out, one blond boy with oversize oval glasses walked over to the desk and set a book on it, and a pink-haired girl rummaged in her desk for something.

"You don't like it, Jeremy?" Mrs. Maple asked, frown creasing her already wrinkled face.

"I've finished, ma'am."

"Already?"

"Yes ma'am, it was very good," Jeremy replied with a smile, nodding earnestly. "Do you have any others I could borrow?"

"I'm sorry, but for the moment, that's all I have that you haven't read," she laughed quietly. "Perhaps I could bring you to the town library some time. Would you like that?"

Jeremy nodded vigorously. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Have a good day, Jeremy," Mrs. Maple waved to him as he scurried out the door.

"Thank you! Have a good day too!"

He walked down the hall a smile on his face.

"Hey, nerd!"

Jeremy froze, shivering as a chill went through him. His smile fell, replaced by eyes widened with fear. He knew that voice.

"Got a new book?" The voice was scornful as a boy at least four inches bigger than him came sauntering around.

"N-No," squeaked Jeremy, unconsciously tightening his grip on his school bag straps.

"That's too bad… I was looking forward to seeing it," the boy said, now smirking. He started to back Jeremy up against the wall, and the small blond gulped, looking around widely for any staff, or at least students. The halls were empty.

"How about I look at your glasses instead?"

Jeremy shook his head, keeping his eyes on the floor. "I… I need them to see."

"All you're going to see is stars if you don't hand them over," the boy growled, suddenly fierce. "Now hand them over!"

The pink haired girl was just about to walk out the door of the school when she heard this. Peeking around a corner, she held back a gasp.

With shaking hands, Jeremy took his glasses off and slowly handed them to the boy.

"Thanks," he snickered, throwing them against the wall and delivering a swift punch to the stomach. Jeremy yelped and doubled over. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor, clutching his stomach.

The girl's eyes widened, and she put a hand over her mouth before dropping her bag on the floor and running down the opposite hall. She turned right twice, then left, running straight into her classroom.

"Mrs. Maple!" she panted breathlessly, leaning against the desk. "You have to come, really quickly!"

"What's wrong, Aelita? Were you running in the hall?" Mrs. Maple asked, blinking in confusion.

"Come on!" she insisted, ignoring the question and tugging at her teacher's hand. "Jeremy is getting hurt!"

At this, the woman stood and started to walk swiftly the door, with Aelita bouncing impatiently in front of her down the hall.

"For heaven sakes Aelita, slow down!"

Aelita was now standing in front of a hall, pointing insistently. Mrs. Maple turned the corner and saw Jeremy being held against the wall by a boy much older, and he looked like he was going to hurt him.

"Stop!" she exclaimed immediately, voice ringing out clear as she walked down the hall as fast as she could in heels. "Stay away from him!"

The boy's eyes widened, and he immediately threw Jeremy to the floor, turning and running as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

The teacher sighed and slowed, knowing she wouldn't be able to catch him. Instead, she went over to where Jeremy was crying on the floor, but Aelita reached him first. The small girl knelt down and peered anxiously at him, gasping.

"Your eye!"

"It's bruised… he punched me," Jeremy sniffed, tears leaking out from his eyes.

"He was mean," Aelita frowned. "Are you… are you okay?"

Jeremy nodded. "I'm used to it, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. How did Mrs. Maple find out?" he asked.

"I ran and got her as soon as I saw him hurting you," Aelita answered, frowning in concern.

"Thank you… he really could have hurt me if you hadn't," he sniffed. In response Aelita started hugging him.

"How much did he hurt you?" asked the teacher in concern, kneeling down and scanning him over.

"He punched me in the eye and stomach. Nothing else, other than that… Do you know where my glasses are? He threw them somewhere," Jeremy said, blinking and turning his head as he blindly searched for the glasses.

"I'll get them," Aelita chirped. She went to the opposite wall and bent down, swiping the glasses. Then she ran back and knelt down, slipping the glasses on his face.

"There!"

Aelita came into view before Jeremy and he found himself staring. Aelita tilted her head.

"Why are you looking at me funny?"

Jeremy blinked at her and she giggled, causing him to blush.

"You're… You look really pretty."

Aelita beamed. "Thanks! Do you wanna be my bestest friend?" she asked, helping him up. Jeremy nodded eagerly, while the teacher smiled widely at the display.

From that moment on, they were the 'bestest' friends.


	2. A Normal Day in Highschool

Yes, I changed the name and description. Sorry about that. I had figured out what I wanted for the beginning, but the end wasn't solid. That description and name went along better with what I'm going to do than the other one. It's also kind of short... :P K, so nobody is perfect.

Did this instead of working on my other stories, which I really should. Oops.

* * *

"After I gave him back his glasses, he told me that I was pretty," Aelita grinned as she recounted the story to her friends.

"You're kidding!" Emily giggled. Aelita shook her head.

"I told him thanks, and then asked if he wanted to be my best friend. He said yes. We still are, to this day," she smiled, looking over to the table where Jeremy was talking to his friends. Aelita was now sixteen, having turned it some months previously, and Jeremy was now also sixteen. It was lunchtime at their high school.

"You think he still has a crush on you?" asked Jennifer, always one for romance.

"It's not like that, Jen, and you know it," Aelita smiled as she kept staring at Jeremy. "We're just good friends."

"Sure you are," Lucy drawled. Jeremy caught Aelita's gaze and instantly smiled, waving. Aelita noticed he blushed slightly when she waved back.

"Jeremy and Aelita, sitting in a tree," Jennifer sang, "K-I-S-S-I-N— mph!" She stopped as Aelita shoved a piece of banana in her mouth. Lucy and Emily giggled while Jennifer chewed, all the while staring at Aelita.

"What are you, ten?" Aelita huffed, shoving Jennifer in the shoulder.

"Seriously, when _are_ you going to ask him on a date?" Lucy asked, stirring her mash potatoes with her fork.

"Come on you guys; you know Jeremy and I are just friends. Come off it." Aelita forced her tone to sound nonchalant as she took a bite of her banana.

"You're blushing," teased Emily in a sing-song voice.

"I am not," Aelita protested, feeling heat surge to her cheeks. "Ah... Well, I'm finished."

The pinkette got up and dumped her tray, going into the hall to get the books for her next class.

_Jeez, my friends can sure be immature sometimes… Why can't they just leave me alone about Jeremy? They know we're just friends, even if it's not true… Wait, did I just say- er, think, that? What's wrong with me…?_

Aelita unconsciously broke into a run.

_You think he still has a crush on you?_

Jennifer's words rang in her ears.

_Does he?_

Aelita turned the corner and bumped straight into something, a burst of pain exploding in her head. She fell to the ground, hearing a gasp of "Oh no!" Spots of black clouded her vision, threatening to push her into unconsciousness.

"Aelita, I'm _so _sorry!"

It was Jeremy's voice. Aelita moaned in response.

"Let me take you to the infirmary."

She blinked, noticing some books on the floor.

"I'm sorry… I turned the corner, but I was holding a bunch of books… You rammed straight into me," he explained, gently tugging on her shoulder. She turned over into a sitting position, putting a hand to her head as a dull throbbing started.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's alright," Jeremy replied with a kind smile as he helped her up. Blood rushed to her head and she swayed, spots clouding her vision. There was suddenly a strong arm around her. The taller boy held her up.

"You should lean on me," he suggested.

"Um, thanks," Aelita said as she leaned on him, feeling her heart thud in her chest. She involuntarily blushed as they made their way to the infirmary.

* * *

"How's your head?" Jeremy asked as he seated himself in a corner of the room.

"A lot better," Aelita replied honestly as she shifted the icepack on her head. "It still hurts, though not as much." She had been diagnosed with a plain bruise, and thankfully, no concussion.

"Great... Again, I'm sorry about earlier..."

"No, that's okay... I should've been watching. It was my fault for bumping into you," she insisted. Jeremy smiled nervously.

"Okay... I wanted to ask you something, if that's alright...?"

"Of course."

Jeremy laced his fingers together, lips pressed in a tight line. "I was wondering if you might want to, uh-" he started, a blush rising on his cheeks, "see a movie tomorrow night?"

Remembering her training, Aelita smiled calmly on the outside while her thoughts buzzed around on the inside.

_A date! He's asking me on a date...?_

She shifted the icepack on her head again, butterflies churning her stomach.

"I'd lo-" Aelita was in the process of agreeing until she remembered what was supposed to happen tomorrow. It was the big night- the one she had planned for since her mother's death. Her heart sank, realizing she couldn't agree.

"I'm really sorry, but that... that day just isn't good for me. Maybe Saturday?" Aelita wondered, smiling apologetically. Jeremy's face lit up as fast as it had darkened.

"Yeah, that would... that would be great! I'll pick you up at six?"

"That sounds nice."

"It's a date, then...?" Jeremy sounded hesitant, as if he couldn't believe the fact that he had gotten a date with his dream girl. Aelita nodded with a smile, blushing slightly when she remembered the girls' teasing at lunch.

"Great," Jeremy beamed, trying not to show how excited he was. They bid each other goodbye as the bell rang, the nurse insisting that Aelita had to rest. She wasn't let out until before the very last period. The pinkette walked down the hall after gathering the books she needed from her locker, scurrying into class just before the bell.

"Where have you been?" whispered Jennifer out of the side of her mouth.

"I'll tell you later," Aelita whispered back as the teacher started to talk. The period seemed to drag on for hours and hours, though in reality, only fifty minutes.

The pinkette jumped up and hurried out the classroom as soon as class was dismissed. She sighed as Jennifer and the others caught up to her at the front of the school, hoping she could have made it away without the explanation. No such luck.

"So, why were you absent from class until now?" Lucy questioned.

"I was in the infirmary," Aelita replied as she pushed open the doors, weaving through the dense crowd of chatting students, all eager to get away from the school.

"The infirmary?" Jennifer asked in confusion. "Why were you in the infirmary?"

"I was running and sort of... hit my head." Aelita walked around a cluster of students, heading toward the bike rack where her black bike was waiting.

"How do you 'sort of hit your head' while you're running?" Emily asked. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

Sighing for the second time in as many minutes, Aelita leaned against the bike rack and recounted the story, from hitting her head and staying in the infirmary, all the way to the date. She blushed as the others started to grin.

"He _does _have a crush on you!" Jennifer exclaimed gleefully, smiling at Aelita. "It's a good thing he finally asked you out."

"When is it?" Emily asked. "Is he taking you to a movie?"

"He-" Aelita tried to answer, but was cut off.

"Is he bringing you to dinner?" Lucy asked, stepping closer.

"Ooh, that would be so romantic," Jennifer swooned, grinning and clasping her hands together.

"Nah," Emily said, waving a hand, "dinner is so old school. A serenade would be much more romantic."

"But he's just going to-" Aelita tried once again.

"But you know Jeremy can't sing!" Jennifer exclaimed. "They'll probably have dinner and talk about science stuff."

"I told you they would do dinner," Lucy stated triumphantly, grinning.

"You don't know that Jeremy can't sing," Emily huffed, hands on hips and frowning at Jennifer. "He might be able to."

"What about a Serenade?" Emily asked again. Jennifer folded her arms, narrowing her eyes.

"No, they'll go to dinner," she said.

"I never said-" Aelita started.

"He'll serenade her," Emily interrupted insistently.

"They'll go to dinner," Jennifer responded stubbornly, voice rising. Aelita just watched them go back and forth with a frustrated look on her face.

"Serenade!"

"Dinner!"

"A movie?" Lucy chimed in.

"Stay out of this!" the two girls snapped in unison, sending her a brief glance before returning their attention to each other.

"Serenade!" Emily said, now yelling. They were starting to attract some curious stares.

"Dinner," Jennifer said in a dangerously calm voice.

"I told you, he's going to serenade her."

"Dinner."

"Serenade," Emily countered stubbornly.

"You guys!" Aelita exploded. "Stop!"

Both girls stopped, turning their heads to look at her. "What?" Jennifer asked.

"You need to stop fighting. Besides, it's hardly a date." She blushed and looked at her feet. "We'll just be spending some time together, okay?" the pinkette asked. She turned around and undid the chain from the bike, then pulled it away from the rack.

"Okay," Emily frowned. Jennifer smiled.

"I know you'll have a great time either way. I'm really happy for you, Aelita."

Aelita smiled and swung a leg over the bike, blushing slightly. "Thanks. I'm really excited about it, too... and nervous."

Jennifer waved the hand, as if wiping the issue away. "That's normal. Anyways, Jeremy will probably be twice as nervous as you. It would be just like you two to be so nervous of each other that you don't notice the others nervousness," she said, letting out a small laugh.

Aelita forced a laugh, but it sounded fake and nervous. "Ah, I hope everything will be fine. See you guys later." Shifting her schoolbag to a more comfortable position, she put both of her hands on the handlebars and pedaled off.


End file.
